The Identity
by Raito Ai
Summary: Kudo Shinichi is losing his memory, while something imprtant had happened to him. What's wrong, everyone seem to keep a secret from Shinichi. And now he got to face his great rival Kid, The Phantom Thief
1. Chap1-The Nightmare

By: 'Ain Izzati

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CHAPTER 1

The Nightmare

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'You will only found her dead body!'

"Wonder how he survived with that thing in his head?"

"He is so good-looking, isn't he?"

He heard people were whispering around him, and a misty voice from the distance-

__

'Only her dead body…'

"OH! Can you two stop talking, can't you? I can't concentrate!"

"Sorry, Dr. Saito."

He tried to move his arms, tried to open his eyes, but he felt exhausted and every inch of his body was throbbing. Now he heard the worst, a scream, whoever the owner of it, she was in a great terrified. He wanted to help her. However he couldn't - how could he if he not even could to unclose his eyes?

__

'Shinichi!'

'Don't hurt him!'

'RAN!!!!' 

The last word he heard jerked him up and he opened his eyes with a quick snap. He was breathless for a while and looked around but all he could see was a foggy vision, even the misty voice still echoed inside his head, even the terrified scream still shaking him. It took a few minutes that seemed like ages before he realized where he was, somewhere – in a ward and surrounded by three peoples. Bitter smell was stinging his nose. Somehow he forgot the misty voice and the screamed, and yet he would face something worse than that, something that really awful. 

He (who was about eighteen years of age, dark-haired boy) looked at his right and there, a man stood. Might be Dr. Saito that he heard when he was half-awake. The stethoscope around Dr. Saito's neck convinced him.

His eyes then fell upon two young women on his left; both were obviously whispering about him ("Look at him! He had awaken!"). Sometime they giggling and glanced up at Dr. Saito. Did not know why they giggled whether about him whose was laid motionless in front them or about Dr. Saito's untidy hair because he kept scratching his head at every word he had written on the note. 

"Look at his eyes! What a brilliant eye!" whispered the ladies. One of them had long blonde hair while the other lady had wavy black hair. The flash of their eyes mixed with superb admiration - looked at him like he was the last living soul on the Earth

It was not a matter for him; people goggled at him, not at all, the horrible matter that after him right now, at this very moment was–

"Who - who am I?" he asked with horror and uneven breath.

Somehow, the clock's hand seemed too lazy to move. The falling note – minutes ago held tightly by Dr. Saito – was the only noise made. The two ladies quickly closed their mouth that were hanging opened while Dr. Saito had stopped scratching his head and stooped at once to pick the note. 

" Oh no – oh no - don't tell me that – that - you didn't know - who yourself are." Dr. Saito stammered. He mopped his sweaty face while staring frantically at his patient.

The dark-haired boy looked at him blankly. He was hoping somebody, anybody could tell him, could comfort him from this terror. However he could not help noticing the stare they gave. Waiting not for their answer, he focused his eyes from them to the white ceiling but all he could see were as blurred as his mind was, dull and dark visions. Unidentified figures dancing across his empty mind like the clown in a circus show. He shook his head, tried to think about something, anything that he could.

"Are you - okay? Kudo-san?" a voice from the wavy-haired lady distracted him. There was a cautious tone slipped in her voice… However it was not the thing that interested him - but the last word.

'Who is…Kudo? Who… am I…?' He lost in his thoughts, head aching – effect of the confusion - he was completely bewildered and stills Dr. Saito didn't say even a word – made him felt ten times blanker.

Dr. Saito surveyed the boy behind his round-rimmed spectacles. Then he wrote again and begun to scratch his head again. Sometimes he muttered to himself and begun to shiver a little. 

"Who is - Kudo? Am – I - ?" the dark-haired boy broke out the question but he failed to complete it because –

"Ouch!" some sort of pain was aching his head made him shrieking. He just realized his head was bandaged

"Just - relax, and rest," finally, after a moment, the doctor spoke awkwardly. Dr. Saito tried to calm him down with his smile but in the depth of his brown eyes - that barely visible between his bushy eyelash - there something said against his words.

"Your head bumped to a rock or maybe something that hard, so maybe you – maybe you lost your memory," Dr. Saito continued –and yet he had stopped scratching his head gazing the boy at his every inch of movement.

For a couple seconds or three, silence took over the ward. No more whisper heard, nor a word. 

"Lost… what?" Kudo startled as he heard what the doctor said (even though it was too obvious). He gave a gasp. That… those very words like a bomb that had exploded him into pieces. There was nothing worse on the Earth than didn't know who yourselves was except when you really wanted to run from the facts of your life. Thousands or million of questions flashed inside him. 

The blank, expressionless-looked he held minutes ago replace by astonish-to-dead stare – lucky he was not die of the circumstances. For a couple minutes or so, he tried to control himself, muttered to himself such as ' It can be…' and ' Why…?' then he took a deep breath – as deep as he could - and said, "Who - am - I?"

"Well," the doctor raised his eyebrow and seemed to make a quick thinking -tried to give a better explanation to him (and he better so) as he always done to his patient, "-but you'll recover sooner or" –scratching his head again, now even harder- "… later."

Kudo was motionless for a while, his sapphire-blue eyes turned to blank orb again as any kind of light would off in his eyes - like a black hole. He fell to the deepest part of himself, tried to find some light in the darkness of his mind. But all he could reach was a deadlock. 

"I'll check up you later. Take a good rest, okay?" Dr. Saito smiled so as the nurses who already grinning to him since he woke.

"W- wait!" Kudo stammered as he realized the doctor was going to leave him – without telling him whom he was- " I… please tell me… who am I?" said him with curious eyes and anxious some. 

The doctor forced a small smile – it seemed even bizarre when he smiled like that - and said "The police officer found you in an abandoned building and your name is Kudo Shinichi, the great detective." In the time, Dr. Saito leave him and closed the door with a small barely heard slam.

That was all, and now, he, Kudo Shinichi lying alone in this ward. Fought the scream that begun to echoed inside him once again and the mysterious misty voice that made him shuddered. He tried to think about something, about the misty voice, about who he was, about how on the earth he was a detective in his past, about… the owner of the terrified scream… about her… even though he was clueless about who she supposed to be… 

***************************************************************************** 

Click!

A flash, reflected by something from somewhere had attracted Shinichi's attention. 

'Where am I?' Shinichi thought in panic. A seconds ago, he still in the ward, laid alone, gazing absently through the white ceiling, sank in the flood of vague sounds and … and just a seconds after he could managed to sleep… everything change. The white ward he was in turn to a very disordered dusty place. 

"This place isn't that ward," Shinichi muttered. The flash! Where it came from? From the corner to the other, he tried to find that small light. Right before him, he saw a little boy who about seven or eight years of age stood. 

"His – his eyes…" Shinichi tried to balance himself that almost knocked down by the surprise, "… the same blue eyes of mine…" he gasped in horror. He felt that he knew this little boy, a very odd feeling. "He is…" a slow step made towards the little boy, his shaking hand tried to touch the boy's. Ten inch before him – nine inch – Shinichi clenched his hand tried to stop them from shaking – four inch – almost there – two inch – any seconds by now Shinichi will touched him but the little boy seemed to be unaware of his existence – now! Got you!

'Bang!!!!!'

'Shocked by the disturbing voice' - Shinichi thought that made him almost collapsed. But… wait a minute! It was not because of that silly noise. It was… because… because the boy! 

Shinichi couldn't touch the boy but… moved right through him. He could felt an icy ivy crawl throughout his soul. Before Shinichi could say even a word, could think about anything, the little boy ran towards the room where the sound came. And he ran right through Shinichi! 

Shinichi stared after him, " Ha! Ha! That's great! I just met a ghost!" he got on his feet, trembling a little, while his eyes fixed at the passageway that ghost of the little boy (or whatever he was) went. He closed his eyelids tightly, "This is just a dream - just a dream," he muttered, hoping when he open his eyes he would be back into the ward but he still there. "Oh no…" he sighed. He looked thoughtfully for a while and finally –

" It won't hurt to take a look, will it?" he said, deciding to follow the little boy. 'It just - a dream.'

After a few minutes or so Shinichi found that boy standing as still as a statue in the doorway and eyeing cautiously into the room in front him. Shinichi didn't get in because the boy blocked the way but tried to peep in over the boy's shoulder. (he forgot that he could walk through the boy.)

The room was as dusty as at the outside, like no one had entered it for years. It had no light and that made it look very horrible. Don't forget to count the fusty air that made Shinichi cough sometimes. There was a window; small window that was closed and seemed like it hadn't been open for ages. The dim yellowish light came from somewhere filled the room.

The first thing, in this gloomy horrible room, that caught Shinichi's eyes was a blond-haired man. He was holding something – black, small figure. "It's – it's a…gun…" some kind of vision flashed inside Shinichi, a hazy one. Couldn't see it but for sure it had caused an extremely pain headache. 

"Did I now you?" asked Shinichi stupidly – he, again, forgot that no one could see him, so might be nobody could hear him too. "Ah…" he sighed.

"You!" a small childish voice heard. The little boy eyed the blond-haired man while his eyes flickered with the flame of hatred and his face burnt with anger. He shuddered angrily and gave a very terrible glare as he wished he could slash the blond-haired man off. 

'What on Earth this blond-haired had done to this boy till he looked at him that way?' Shinichi thought while watching them, didn't sure whether interestedly or skeptically. 

In certain opposite, the blond-haired man seemed to be unaware to the boy's threat-sounded voice, but motioned the boy to the corner of the room instead.

Both, Shinichi, who looked puzzle and the little boy, who still red-faced with anger, looked at the corner. Silhouetted, at that corner was a person, a girl! She was lying motionless, no sign of breath. Her black silky fringe concealed her face and her dress, scarlet one or maybe it was looked scarlet by her… her own… 

The blood drained off of the little boy's face. He could hear his heart was thumping frantically. 'That… that… no way! It can't be! It couldn't!' he thought miserably; tried to avoid the thought that incessantly knocked his mind, the thing that the least he wanted to think. The mixture of fear, disbelief, nervous and sadness spread across his face. He was shaking all over his body, he felt like the solid floor under him was rushing down. He not even felt if he was still standing or not.

"RAN!!!" 

Shinichi, meanwhile, who looked as white as the boy was, hoping, if this was just a dream, he prayed somebody could wake him up. But even if this just a dream he was very sure that he had something to with this in his past… something that he hoped he would never know.


	2. Chap2-The Quest In The Dream

By: 'Ain Izzati

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CHAPTER 2

The Quest in the Dream

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It was already a week since he, Shinichi Kudo, had awoken from his deep slumber, awestruck and drenching in cold sweat. He was still having the same dreadful dream every night, still hearing the same misty voice, still wondering about the owner of the scream, but, somehow he managed to put it out of his mind it every time. He didn't know whether he should be glad that it was just an unwelcome nightmare or if should he feel miserable because nobody came to see him.

It was really hard when you got to go through a whole week without knowing who you really were and not having anyone that you could lay your trust on and suffering amnesia in the same time. It was because of the stupid rules that Dr. Saito had put for him; he wasn't allowed to have any visitors. What a stupid rule, he thought. Dr. Saito said that his condition didn't allow him to have any more shocking news, or such thing. Something that he couldn't understand.

Shinichi spent most of his time punishing his eardrums by listening to the two nurse gossiping away about him. They seemed to be his fans or something. Fans? Right, how could it be? I'm that well-known? Things become more and more confuse every second. He felt like the whole world was spinning and he trapped in the midst of chaos. He confused. The peoples around him, the doctors, the nurses, and all of it, it made him nothing better than before, worse perhaps.

So far the peoples that he'd talked with were just Dr. Saito that responsible to his condition, a fat woman called Mrs. Sato, and two nosy nurses. 

"Mimasaka the troublemakers?" said Mrs. Sato when Shinichi mentioned the two women to her.

"_Who_ the _what_?" Shinichi asked stupidly.

"Mimasaka – the – trouble – makers" she replied word by word in annoyance.

"Ah yes," said Shinichi, he could feel his ears going red (even though he couldn't see them). "I remember their name, Mimasaka, both of them. They are not twins, are they?"

"Well, fortunately not. Everyone will think they are because you will never see one of them without the other." Mrs. Sato said, poking some flowers on the bedside table furiously as if the flowers were Mimasaka the troublemakers.

" …but both of them were always making people mad and most unfortunately they have the same surname. The wavy-haired one is Mimasaka Midori while the blond-haired is Mimasaka Minami."

"I see…" nodded Shinichi incessantly, pretending that he agreed with her.

Mrs. Sato was very right about both Mimasaka though, because a minute after she left the two women burst into Shinichi's room, murmuring furiously.

'Oh no…' Shinichi mouthed but no words heard. 

Both young women were muttering about something, while Shinichi, who had begun to feel how great it would be if he were still in a coma ("I won't recover soon enough with those _things_ hanging around," sighed Shinichi), picked up the newspaper on his bedside table. On the front cover, was a photo of a red ball – at least that was what Shinichi thought it at first. After examining it for a while, Shinichi realized it was not a ball but a ruby, a huge one. On its left side was a short fat man, who was probably the owner of this magnificent ruby. 

The headline title was quite attractive–

"DECS-RU RUBY – MR. HIMURA CHALLENGES THE MOST WANTED THIEF," whispered Shinichi, his eyes twinkling, like they always had done before the mysterious night that had cost him his priceless memory, showing the glorious light of his sapphire-blue eyes, "hmm… sound interesting." Somehow everything that is weird, mysterious, puzzling and odd never failed to fascinate him.

On the left of the picture of the red ruby was another picture of a white shiny figure. It was a man in a silver tuxedo. The photo wasn't very clear, but Shinichi had to admit that it was a very good and interesting picture. The silvery moonlight was reflected by his tuxedo, made it gleam brilliantly. So cool. So noble. So marvelous! His eyes gazing back lively into Shinichi's even though it was just a picture. An odd familiar feeling came across his heart. 

"Hey! Look at that!" cried Midori the moment she saw the photo.

"It's…" choked Minami, as if something big and harsh was stuck in her throat.

"THE PHANTOM THIEF!!" shouted both of them. Their fair faces went pink.

"Who… What…?" asked Shinichi; because this was the first time he heard the name since he had awoken. He caught a glimpse of the word they had said in the first line of the first paragraph of the article. 

"The Phantom Thief…" repeated Minami dreamily.

"… the most good-looking thief for century…" said Midori, though she'd never seen the thief's face.

" … and he has never been caught by any police yet…"

"… he never failed either…"

" NO!" shouted Minami, shocking both Shinichi and Midori. "He did fail once… most unfortunately, he was defeated by a little boy!" she said painfully and tears started to flow down her cheeks. ( You knew, Sonoko's tears.^^)

"Hey, er…" Shinichi didn't know what to say to these two women, they seemed to be really admiring the… what, thief… eh? 

In fact, Shinichi felt there was no point to cry over nothing – idiotic it seemed. His eyes went back to the paper, scanning the pages. "Business… robbery… rape… war… ten people die in Saint Des (when will they learn how precious peace is?) … Singer… and oh what was this?" his eyes were captured by an advertisement. Actually it was a note for someone. 

__

To Holmes Junior, please take this into consideration, 

Once the ray of the hatred lighted again, you'll never be able to run from it. Beware of the Raven by the Dark Lord that is looking for the silhouetted truth. 

The Ace.

A burning curiosity started glowing in those blue-orb eyes of his. To whom was this message directed? Why it was written? There was something urgent distantly whispering at the back of his head. 

Unexpectedly, the door opened, distracting Shinichi from the wild thought that was humming insanely inside him. Dr. Saito came in, as usual, his hair untidy and his face looking pale as if he had just recovered from a month-long flu or something like that. He wasn't alone; someone else followed him inside the room. A thin figure, as tall as Shinichi, wearing a cap with a word that looked like SAX and with a cool look on his handsome face – as cool as Shinichi's – showing his determination. His skin, however, was a "little" darker that Shinichi's. 

"Mimasaka-san, please leave the patient for a while. He has a visitor," said Dr. Saito after clearing his throat, eyeing them furiously and narrowing his eyes as much as he possibly could.

A visitor? I thought that he loves to see me pleading him so that I can meet someone, Shinichi wondered as he studied the visitor from every angle.

"Which Mimasaka do you mean Doctor?" they chorused.

"Both of you!" he shrieked impatiently.

"All right, all right," said both Mimasaka lazily, leaving the room, mumbling.

After a minute or so, the only persons in Shinichi's room were the visitor and himself. 

"I came here the instant I heard you had met them. And that doctor (what was his name?) wouldn't let me see you. Luckily Mouri-san, ah yes, his wife I mean, helped me - that old man won't do me any favor, you know Mouri" the visitor said quickly instead of greeting him in the normal way. 

Shinichi watched him blankly. He didn't know what or how to reply. His mind was busy trying to remember who this young man was supposed to be. '_I don't have any brothers as far as I know…'_ glancing up at the guest, '…_ and he couldn't be my father … he is too young,' _thought Shinichi, biting his lip in frustration, blaming himself for not asking Mimasaka about his background before. 

The most boring time Shinichi had spent with the two Mimasaka, was when he had to hear about himself from persons whom he had never met before (according to Mimasaka) and the worst was that these two women knew his background better than he did. He felt ashamed and a little stupid.

"What?" asked the visitor awkwardly, realizing the strange look on Shinichi's face.

"Do I - know you?" 

The visitor fell silent for a while, dumbstruck perhaps. He stared at Shinichi from top to toe as if Shinichi had transfigured himself into a sea slug or something. He sighed heavily and put his right hand on Shinichi's forehead while he put his left hand on his. 

"I'm – not – having – a fever," moaned Shinichi and looked at the visitor in a half-sickened sort of statement.

"Oh no! Don't play games with me, baka!" said the visitor, feeling annoyed with Shinichi's reply. 

"Nobody told you?" hardly, the only best answer Shinichi could give – even though it sounded rather like a question.

"What? Told me? About what?" the visitor asked, bewildered. 

"About – about me…" somehow, something was stuck in Shinichi's throat and he needed to clear it twice before continuing, " … that I lost – my memory…." he was feeling rather foolish having to tell someone that, but he was also feeling embarrassed about having to admit that he didn't know the person standing in front of him. 

"Oh come on, Shinichi. No more tricky questions, okay?" the visitor started to scratch his head, an effect from Dr. Saito perhaps.

"Then you'd better ask the doctor if you don't believe me," It gave Shinichi a funny feeling to be trying to convince people that he was having amnesia. 

__

And it's extremely hurts.

The perplexity atmosphere steadily grew more every second. The visitor finally swallowed the fact painfully, and told Shinichi who he was. Shinichi could guess how pointless the visitor felt, having to re-introduce himself to somebody that he'd known for a year. (Right, a year was not a long time but it was long enough to make you thoroughly know each other.) 

"Hattori, Hattori Heiji," the visitor said, shifting his seat for the uncounted time as if he was sitting on a prickling chair of thorns. His tanned face was still showing his disbelief of what Shinichi had just told him. 

"Come to think about it, it's not as crazy as become a kid," Heiji thought.

He hadn't expected that he would ever meet Shinichi in this condition. He kept talking about 'them' – whoever 'they' were Shinichi had no idea.

"I will ask that sandy-haired girl, then, to come and tell you what had exactly happened that night. She was there, and she was the one who called the police," Heiji said confidently, his eyes sparkled with interest, trying to figure what was playing inside Shinichi at the statement. " She just kept silent whenever I asked her about the events – as if a rock is stuck in her throat," muttered Heiji.

"Sandy-haired girl?" said Shinichi, not knowing whether this was meant as a question or not. His mind was wandering to the yellowish dim room where he had seen the motionless girl. The events he had seen in his nightmare kept repeating themselves over and over in his head. He failed to catch it; in fact it started to vanish whenever his desire to remember it grew stronger. _Is that girl…? Is she…?_

Then, after a few moments, Heiji went out in hurry because he had just remembered an important appointment with someone named Toyama – saying it with a pinkish tinge on his cheeks. After promising he would tell the sandy-haired girl to go and visit him, he left Shinichi, who was becoming more confuse every second. 

Heiji had not mentioned anything about who 'they' that he kept talking about were. He hadn't even told him what the girl's name was and what on Earth Shinichi had been doing in an abandoned building to get such great injuries. Heiji didn't know what had happened all right, but Shinichi stubbornly thought that Heiji knew a lot that he wasn't telling him, especially about his past – Heiji preferred to talk to the bedside table whenever Shinichi opened up the subject of his past. "Not until you're ready to take it," Heiji repeated all the time, which made Shinichi's mind imagine Dr. Saito's white face replacing Heiji's.

Now, meeting visitors wasn't as good as Shinichi had expected it to be. "What it use for when you still confuse about who you are?" he murmured, a little angry.

About an hour after Heiji had left, the room's door once again burst open and a blond woman with wavy hair darted inside with a tear-stained face. She flung her arms around Shinichi's neck and started sobbing hysterically on his shoulder. It took her a few minutes that seemed like years before she could calm down and leave Shinichi's neck. And when she did, Shinichi noticed the other visitor who strongly resembled him. 

The difference was that this man had a moustache and wore glasses. He was Shinichi's father, Yosaku Kudo. And the woman, no doubt was his mother, Yukiko Kudo. Yosaku smiled wearily, the shadows beneath his eyes telling Shinichi that he hadn't got a good sleep for a long time. 

After a short conversation, but better than the conversation he had had with Heiji because Dr. Saito had mentioned his case to his parents, they left. They, just like Heiji, came the instant they got the news. And just like he had done with Heiji, Dr. Saito wouldn't let them see Shinichi till now. 

"I told you to come with us when they shrunk you," said Yukiko with a husky voice, surely she had been crying since she got the news.

"Shrunk? Who are they?" asked Shinichi. He had half-expected that his parents would talk about 'them', but he hadn't expected them to talk about shrinking stuff. 

"Yukiko, not now," said Shinichi's father calmly, "And they were not shrinking him," he muttered. 

All the same, like Heiji and Dr. Saito had done, they were not telling him lots stuff about his past, and that made Shinichi feel even sicker than ever. 'What are they hiding from me, and who are "they" they keep talking about? And what stuff? Shrinking me? Nonsense!' Shinichi thought about it all night. , his head spinning with blurred visions He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but the same horrible dream came again, now even worse, telling him his cursed destiny…

Shinichi felt as if he had fallen from a place that was so high. He fell down… and down… the chilly wind made him shiver and… a funny noise was made as he hit the solid ground. He was not hurt though (of course he wasn't, it was just a dream). He, once again, found himself in the same dusky room, and the only difference was that the situation was more like a continued episode of the last dream… or nightmare.

Shinichi saw that girl again. Now even clearer than before. 

She could be in seventeen or eighteen years old. Her long silky black hair told Shinichi that she was not the sandy-haired girl that Heiji had been talking about. Her dress was scarlet; no doubt, it was drained by her own blood.

Her eyes remained closed, only her pale lips moved, saying unheard words. She was losing her strength, for the blood was emptying her veins slowly. There were pearls of tears splashing down her white cheeks, which had always been so smooth and creamy, yet no more… 

It weren't the tears that asked for sympathy… It was something else. Somehow Shinichi could read everything that was flashing inside her. In the deepest of her mind one by one the pleasant past times showed up like a non-stop videotape. The 'tape' showed a movie with her as the main character… walking through an endless road, the darkness shadowing her every steps. Shinichi saw a thin figure and the figure was - 

'Shinichi…' she whispered from the distance in her mind. 

Shinichi was petrified by the fact. He saw himself waving towards the girl and smiled weakly, looking rather miserable. 

"Ran!" the same childish voice that Shinichi had heard in the last nightmare. Then the little boy ran towards the girl that he called Ran. There was something shining on his white pale cheeks, something like a drop of tear. 

And again the little boy ran through him. Shinichi didn't care about it a lot; his mind was still wandering somewhere… for some reason he didn't know about.

The little boy threw his small arms around Ran's neck. He hugged her tightly; he didn't want to leave any space separating them. He didn't want to lose her again… though he knew only a miracle could do that… he knew… he knew… he just didn't want to admit it…

Ran's red blood was wetting the little boy's small body, while her warm pearly tears were still streaming down her cheeks, some of them dropping down to the little boy's hands. Shinichi, still frozen in his spot, didn't dare to move his eyes away from the little boy and Ran. 

"You are so pathetic, kid," the blond-haired man was still there with his gun pointed straight towards them. He gave a very ugly smirk, ecstatically enjoyed the situation.

"Shinichi…?" Ran unclosed her eyes with all the strength that she had left, but there she, like the others, didn't have the effort to see Shinichi. Her watery eyes looked longingly into the little boy's. The teenager that she had been hoping to see for ages, the one that she had grown-up with, her childhood friend was not there – but just…a kid with huge glasses. "Conan…?" she remarked while trying to overcome the pain. 

'CONAN.'

So that was the little boy's name, a thought swam inside Shinichi.

The name echoed inside Conan's mind. Shinichi, meanwhile, shared the same feeling, the very extraordinary forlorn feeling. He didn't feel sure if it was because he didn't like to see this sad event or because of something else that he failed to fathom… something so secret… something so important…

If the mixture of the bewilderment and the sadness had stunned Shinichi, it was nothing compared to Conan's feelings. For some reason, he hated the truth; it had been fooling him for years. He absorbed the truth miserably, he chewed it painfully, the fact that he was Conan. Shinichi couldn't understand it, he didn't remember who this Conan was, and he hadn't heard anything about this Ran either. Were they the people that Heiji had been talking about? 

"I hid this from her for fear of her safety. But… right now… she is dying because of this stupid secret. Didn't I hide my traces successfully enough? Why-----who---?" Conan mumbled glumly. He apparently had completely forgotten that the blond-haired man was still there.

"What secret?" the desire to know it didn't mean Shinichi managed to say it. If he had, however, nobody would have heard it. He was dazing himself with this melancholy; he wanted to run to somewhere else, anywhere, anywhere but here. He'd had enough of all this. He felt as if a basin of ice had fallen in his stomach. He didn't like this at all. 

Shinichi got a nasty feeling that the longer he stayed there the more horrible facts would pop out from some unexpected place. His conscience was hoping he would not come here of all the places in the world. 'If it is a nightmare, wake me up!' he begged silently.

"Poor little kid," the blond-haired man distracted both Shinichi and Conan, and gave a sarcastic grin. "I'm just thinking how to warmly welcome you. I guess I know how. How about----" his mad, red eyes showed an increasing wildness mixed with a horrid hatred, " using the bullets that are left? I still have three. Believe me, you'll feel very welcome, Kudo-san," he laughed derisively.

'Kudo? Did he just say Kudo? Does he mean me?' Shinichi was gasping in terror. 'No way! There are many people named Kudo. . No need to fuss about, right?'

Conan glared at him with the most deadly glare you had ever seen. But somehow, it also looked so hopeless.

Shinichi privately knew that this little boy could do nothing. He was really helpless. 'If only I am able to do something…' thought Shinichi.

"Kudo…?" the whisper was barely audible, dropping from Ran's pale lips with difficulty. "You… are…" her words trailed off… "Shi – Shin – ichi," her strength was completely drained off of her body and… 

Ran's heavy breath was heard no more. Her hand, which once tried to grip Conan, now fell, touching the floor that was red with her innocent blood. Between disbelief and untold fear, Conan knew the thing that he had been dreading every night had now turned to a bloody truth. Shinichi, who had been a very good audience, felt like a ton of rock had buried him and crushed him to death. 

'Ran…'

Silence filled the room. Everything was happening so fast, so fast that neither Shinichi nor Conan moved… 

__

'She can not leave me like that. She can not. She is not…'Conan's lips started trembling, while Shinichi tried to touch her hand, and as he had expected, his hand just went through hers.

"Wake up Ran. Don't play jokes with me. That's not…funny." Conan shook her lifeless body frantically. His eyes became redder, his face paler. 

'Wake up… please…'Shinichi said, although he didn't know why. He just wanted this girl, this black-haired girl, to open her eyes again, to reveal again her faint-blue eyes, he would give anything just to wake her up, anything… he didn't remember her, all right. But he knew –- nothing but the most important thing in your life would you say at the end of your life. And this, this girl said his name… he must meant a lot to her and she to him…. 

Both of them stood as still as a statue, the clock's hand moved so slowly as if somebody had bewitched it to work twice as slow as usual. 'Please Ran… wake up and say that you're just fooling me… Please, I promise that I'll break your heart no more… don't do this to me… don't…leave me…Ran…' Shinichi could hear a whisper from the distance, wherever it came from Shinichi had no idea. 

Shinichi focused his eyes on Conan, and he could see a strange statement in that watery sapphire-blue eyes. It was not sadness; it was something more than that. Something… a feeling… a feeling that no word could describe. Something that somehow he shared too…

"BANG!!"


	3. Chapt 3 - The Invitation

By: N. 'Ain Izzati.   
  
-----------------  
CHAPTER 3   
The Invitation   
-----------------  
  
BANG!! 

Shinichi could feel his heart wanted to jump out of its place. No way! Not another shot, he prayed. He held his breath. His heart beating lost its rythm. But it was not a gunshot. Shinichi suddenly realized that he was somewhere else. Darkness around him and… a bitter smell. 

"Oh… forgive me dear, for waking you up," said a voice that he knew. It was Madam Sato. She had accidentally stumbled into Shinichi's bed. Shinichi nodded weakly, meaning that he didn't mind it at all. In fact he was really grateful. He could have gone mad if he was still dreaming. 

The inky blue and dark night started to leave, and the shiny golden dawn peeped out from the distance of the glorious east. It was so beautiful, so nice but Shinichi didn't enjoy it, all he could see was a cursed gloomy scene. Shinichi was wide-awake, not daring to sleep again, though, the dream was so clear to him now. He could see it playing over and over again like a film in his mind. Something that he couldn't avoid, something that somehow he didn't want to avoid, something that he wanted to know, something that would tell him about the last thing that had happened on the last night before he lost his memory… 

**************************************************************************   
  
Shinichi was quieter than usual on the next morning, his mind was still wandering somewhere - and of course it was about his dream. If he hadn't gotten the news that he could go home today, he wouldn't even give a small smile. Seemed like Heiji had forgotten the promise he had made. The sandy-hair girl didn't turn up. Not even after a few weeks Shinichi was back at home. 

Before he left the hospital - with a great relief - Shinichi was dragged by the two Mimasaka towards a corner. 

"What on earth are you trying to do?" said Shinichi, losing his patience. 

"Nothing…" they said , eyeing their surroundings cautiously. 

It took a while before they looked at Shinichi with a strange sort of expression. At last, Midori took out a small box from her handbag. It was wrapped in a shiny blue paper. 

"What?" Shinichi asked in annoyance, "Giving me a good-bye present, are you?" 

"NO." 

"So?" 

"We found this with you when they brought you here," explained Midori, grinning. 

"Thought it must be something important because you were gripping it so firmly." Minami gave a derisive smirk. 

"Oh?" Shinichi was blushing deeply. 

**************************************************************************** 

Meanwhile… 

The chilly wind blew everything at its way, softly, gently like the cold breath of the legendary Queen of Snow, sending shivers to every living creature in the noisy but beautiful city of Tokyo. 

But still, nobody seemed to care about it, the mall was still crowded with people, as well as the game centers, the offices, nobody really care about how cold it was, nobody. Because all you need to do is to use different clothes in this type of weather, of course, you can't wear dresses that you always wear during the summer in this kind of weather unless you'd loved to have a bad cold and headache. 

So did a girl that seemed to be unaware of her surroundings, sitting stiffly, silently, on a bench at a deserted playground. 

The girl looked so… so desperate. She kept sighing, and her eyes… her faint-blue eyes shimmering like a light of a candle, so dim. She tossed her long brown-black hair slowly, hardly realizing what she was doing. "Man… what am I doing here? He won't come here, will he?" she mumbled, throwing a gaze towards the distant horizon. 

There was something special about this small playground. Not just because she used to come here when she was a child, but because someone else used to come with her here at times before. 

Someone who had given her a pleasant time, playing together and sometimes had made her blue-eyes flood with uninvited tears. Someone who now made her head ache with questions of his whereabouts. He had always and always done that to her before. But never had she felt so anxious to see him again, like now. Something wrong had happened. She knew that. The matter is; what was wrong. 

Crack! 

"Who is that?" the girl said as she heard an unwelcome sound. No one would be around here at this period of time. Waiting not for the intruder to answer her, she stood and ran to the spot where the noise came from. 

She stopped dead as she realized who the intruder was; he was the person that she had been thinking about seconds ago. She lost her voice, instead, her eyes were now filled with pearly tears, asking an unspoken question. Before her was a black-haired figure of a boy that was staring at her, the guiltiness was wrinkling his face. 

"Where have you been this three weeks?!" she shouted as the tears finally splashed down her cheeks. She didn't want to shout at this boy, not after wasting her time thinking worriedly about him, but she couldn't help it; for some reason she felt that she want to slap him. 

"I… uh… I'm sorry Nakamori-kun…" the boy said, trying hard to calm the girl that he called Nakamori down. 'Now I'm in real trouble,' he thought. "I met Akira at the mall, he said that you always come here lately… so… here I am," he explained, hoping the reason could cool her temperature down despite the already cold weather. 

Instead of feeling better, she cried angrily at him, "Can't you call me Aoko?!! By my name!??? What's the matter with you! What had happened in this three weeks? Why? Why do you looks so--- so distant from me… why? Kaito?" she whispered, her heart was racing as she finished her words, trying hard to stop the tears that was still streaming down her pink, smooth cheeks. She badly wanted to slap Kaito now. 

"Uh… alright… I'm sorry Aoko-chan, actually I have been visiting a friend at… at Hokkaido," Kaito said, trying his best to hedge. He put on an innocent face, as innocent as he could make it look like. Here it goes; lies and more lies. He had forgotten how many times he told lies to people. There was an urge of desire mounting in his heart, the desire to kick himself. 

"Three weeks! Do you think I'm completely dumb or stupid or something? Why are you always doing things like that to me? Disappearing, unable to be contacted and all! Hokkaido huh?! In THIS weather!" She breathed hard as she tried to remember every one of Kaito's many many faults, making surethat she would bring the topic up now, and no one could stop her. 

"I'm sorry, alright? Don't cry because your pretty face will look dumb if you cry," Kaito said gently, trying his best, charming words to distract her from the main topic. 

Her fair face went slightly pink at his words but then she hastily said, "Who is dumb! Watch out for your mouth! And you are--- are an idiot with--- with messy hair and…" her words trailed off as she noticed Kaito's hair. "Aw! What a surprise you've finally learned to brush your hair properly," Aoko said sarcastically. All the thought about Kaito's many many fault vanished at once. 

"Is that too messy?" Kaito asked but he smiled as his plan worked. 

"No. It's not as messy as it used to be," Aoko said, wiping her tears away, 'You stupid little girl, what use is it to cry for such a… an idiot!' she thought firmly. "Here! Come with me!" she said as she took Kaito's hand and started towards the empty road. 

"Where are you gonna take me? Do you want to let a car crash me or something?" 

"I want to take you home!" she answered curtly. 'I'm not going to let him go again. Maybe I should tie him up or something.' she thought. 

"Home?" he asked,unexpectedly while his face expressed with an unreadable statement. There was something across his tricky head; something that made him stop at once. 

"Yeah. Home. Why?" Aoko said as she sensed his taken-aback expression. 

"Oh… er… oh no I just remember to go to the mall! I'll be home later then. Bye," he said as he successfully released his hand from Aoko's grip and ran towards the opposite direction. 

"But… you just came from the mall!" she screamed at nothing as the shadow of Kaito had vanished from her sight. Ah… she heaved an enormous sigh for the uncounted time today. Now, it coming again, that nasty feeling about something that she wasn't really sure what it was. 

"Just come back in time, safe and sound then I'll forgive you for your rudeness," she whispered helplessly as if Kaito was still there, hearing those words. She knew he wasn't there, it was obvious. But still in the midst of her heart, she lit a hope of seeing him again; for the reason that was unfathomable. 

****************************************************************************  


Somewhere at the eastern of the countryside, a red car drove across the snowy road, alerting every living creatures of its existence. The red car directed itself to a parking area at the side of an abandoned factory. After a few minutes, the driver showed itself, holding a newspaper that seemed to be so important to her. 

It was an American woman about twenty or thirty years of age, with wavy-blond hair that was let loose down her shoulders. She stared at the old factory for a moment, while her fair face showing a great disbelief for something. The musical voice of the ocean waves, pounding the rocks and everything that dare to challenge its power and the sounds of the gentle wind that fluttered the woman's blond hair softly, sounding so lively.. so strong. 

She shook her head as she entered the factory. No one inside, she noticed that, maybe upstairs? She walked gently towards the stair, back straigh like the Queen of Ocean, noble, beautiful... but dangerous. There was a room at the first floor. That room might once be used as an office or something. The woman pulled the door open and entered the room slowly. 

"Where is he?" she asked coldly, obviously she knew there was someone inside. 

"Aniki?" said a voice, a man voice from the corner of the room. She jerked her head towards the owner of the harsh voice, smiling. Right in front her was a man in black. Well at least he wore all black, black hat, black coat and black spectacles; and his heart… was it as black and evil as his appearance? 

"Who else do you expect me to find?" she said, sitting against the wall in a faint circle of sunlight in the winter, gazing into his eyes beyond the spectacles. 

"He doesn't want to see anyone today. And you had better not try to, Vermouth," ignoring the gaze from this beautiful angel, the man stood up and took a file from one of the many bookshelves. 

"Why not? He's not going to kill me, will he? I'm a priceless asset in our organization." Vermouth said, smiling cheekily at the man. 

"Can't you stop disobeying me?" he said flatly as if he was talking to an annoying little boy. 

"I didn't know that I should obey your every words, Vodka!" Vermouth shouted, maybe she felt like being humiliated or something that made her tricky smile went away with his harsh words, and replaced by a sudden anger. 

"Just lower your voi-…." he hastily tried to calm the woman down but his words were cut off as the door flew opened with a loud bang. Vermouth stopped shouting and looked at the new comer. It was a man with long blond hair that now was covered with white snow, the man that she'd been looking for, the man that was usually known as Aniki among the member of their organization, Code name - Gin. 

He was wiping the snow off his hair while barking at Vodka, "Vodka don't you think that that…" his words were slashed off as he realized that Vodka was not alone in the room, there was a lady, a beautiful one. 

"Hello Gin. Nice day isn't it?" Vermouth said calmly as if she was talking to a harmless boy, smiling as their eyes made contact. 

Gin clutched his hands in rage, his eyes were locked in a furious gaze with Vermouth's, signing the wave of fire beating inside him like the ocean wave in the winter. "What is she doing here?" harsh, emotionless like the faint glow in his eyes, he said, taking his eyes off her, instead he changed his glare to Vodka, "Vodka, I told you not to…" 

"Cut that out," Vermouth said, lashing the tense situation off. "I just dropped by to show you this. Might be some interesting news for you," she continued, throwing the newspaper that she had been holding like a fragile item before. 

Gin turned his glare to the newspaper as if it was his first time looking at a newspaper. His expression became less menacing as his eyes bore into Vermouth's calm, serene face, the serenity of a great actress. He hesitated at her calm statement, because nobody would ever know what this actress was up to. But he picked it up anyway; curiosity was always above everything; it was a human nature. 

"The Ace?" said Gin after taking his time reading the newspaper, his face completely changed, from anger to an expression that Vermouth, somehow, failed to describe it. 

"It can't be!" Vodka was startled as the name pounded against his eardrums. His eyes grew smaller as an unexpected expression of fear slipped across his face. 

"We killed that tantei, and that little thief can do nothing by now, how could it be?" barely audible, Gin said it while his eyes remained empty, bottomless. 

Unexpectedly, Vermouth gave a loud, maniacal laughter that was enough to cover the every noise in the room. Her fair, beautiful face of an angel went away at the moment replaced by a look of evil, pure evil. 

" 'How could it be?' " she repeated Gin's words, "How can your thoughts just go straight towards that detective and thief? That 'The Ace' could be anyone. Just let the time decide who will it be," she said, enjoying the look on Vodka's face. 

"You…!" Vodka glared at her, half-shouting, as he sensed the main purpose of her presence. He swore under his breath, not daring to let Gin hear any of those swear words. Gin, on the other hand, held his gaze at the newspaper, thinking about something that nobody would ever want to know, thinking about… 

"Well… enough entertainment for today," Vermouth said, flashing her dazzling, charming smile. "Have a nice, warm day, guys." 

Off she went; leaving Vodka in anger and Gin… with his thoughts about the note that he had read in the newspaper. Somehow, Vermouth's words was incessantly knocking on his head… _Let the time decide who it will be… let the time…_But he wouldn't let the time overrule his destiny, he wouldn't… he would find it out himself. He would, no doubt about it. 

**************************************************************************** 

"We found this with you when they brought you here," explained Midori, grinning. 

"Thought it must be something important because you grip it so firm," Minami gave a derisive smirk. 

"Oh?" Shinichi was blushing deeply. 

"Could it be for your girl?" added Midori hastily before Shinichi left them , scarlet-faced. 

"My… my girl? Did I have one?" his cheeks was redder while the thought danced in his mind madly. 

But it was soon forgotten when a white-haired old man named Prof. Agasa patted him at his shoulder right after he arrived at his house. "Goodness know how pleased I am to see you alive," he said And he had repeated the same word whenever he saw Shinichi. 

Though, there was something so outré about his house, thought Shinichi at every time he glimpse at it. He would get an odd feeling that someone was peeping at him whenever he poked his head out of the window. 

On his fourth Saturday at home, Heiji came with a very tense face. Shinichi's parents were back in LA. Yukiko almost broke into tears when Shinichi refused to go with them. He had his own reason though. He wanted to find out about the girl… and about Conan - however, he dared not to ask his parents and he yet didnt have the opportunity to ask Hattori. But he had half-expected that Hattori would give his best to hedge. 

"That thing again!" Yukiko cried as if she could read Shinichi's mind. "You'll never learn. Last time I left you because of that, and what did you get? And - and now - you did it again!" then she rushed out of the living room. Leaving him in confusion and his father in guilt. However, she finally agreed - "Woman… don't worry, I told you. See, she has agreed at last!" Yosaku whispered into Shinichi's ear. 

Nevertheless, Shinichi had wasted the whole Yukiko-and-Yosaku-free week wondering what his plan was really about. He wasn't sure yet of what to do. Thanks God that Hattori was here now. 

"Shut the door and don't let anyone come in!" Heiji yelled. His face was red with anger but it looked funny when it tinged with his tanned face. 

"Why?" Shinichi asked. He couldn't just obey Heiji's order or stopp people from coming, what if it was Prof. Agasa? 

"Oh! Please just do it," pleaded Heiji, " if not you'll find me being skinned alive," his pitiful face made him look twice as funny. 

"Ok, ok." It was no point to argue. Besides, he had something else to do. 'Yes, tie Hattori up and torture him till he tells me everything about my past,' evil thoughts came and whispered mistily inside Shinichi. He grinned when he thought how irrational the idea was. He couldn't do that unless he longed to spend his next weeks in prison - Insp. Hattori wouldn't be so pleased about it. 

"So, why are you here? Love to appear everywhere anytime you can, don't you? Thought you'd gone to Osaka," Shinich said , offering a glass of lemonade and some snacks to Heiji. 

"Well - ah - yes. But - er… got to do something else here, er… important," Heiji said and took the snacks, "Very important." 

"I see," Shinichi's sapphire-blue eyes were boring into Heiji's. "As important as the appointment with Toyama?" 

"I guess…" Heiji's tan-faced had gone slightly red again. (taking more snacks.-_-;) 

"Well… er…" if in the last few moment Heiji's voice sounded doubtful, was Shinichi's turn now. "You… you know about that boy?" 

"Boy?" Heiji raised his brows. His slightly shy-face vanished and was replaced with puzzlement. "Which boy?" he didn't know who that Shinichi was talking about. Perhaps the kids that had been with him before? But, it quite impossible for Shinichi hadn't met them yet, as far as Heiji knew. 

"The boy… er… Co-" before Shinichi could say 'Conan', the bell rang madly. 

"Heiji!! I know you are here! Don't you think you can hide in Shinichi's house!!" roared an unfamiliar voice - at least it didn't sound familiar enough to Shinichi. 

"Oh no…" sighed Heiji. "Tell her I'm not here, please." 

"Who is she?" asked Shinichi eagerly. 

"Er… a mad girl , perhaps?" Heiji put on an innocent-puzzled looked. 

"Really? Then what should I say to her? That you ask me to tell her that you're not here?" 

Heiji stared at Shinichi, half-mad half-pleading then he groaned as he thought how risky it could be if she found him here. "Toyama. A mad girl that love to tail me wherever I go." His face has gone brilliantly red. 

Shinichi grinned then went to open the door - it seemed so extraordinary to see Heiji being so taken aback especially in this sort of situation. There was a girl that about eighteen at the doorway. Her brown-black hair was tied tidily with a silvery scarlet ribbon at the back of her head. They fluttered every time she shook her head impatiently, giving a nice sight especially with the snow as the background. 

"Kudo-kun?" Toyama frowned. Then she smiled sarcastically to herself. "I should have known he won't come out," she mumbled. "Just ask that - that idiot to come out or I'll come in myself and go get him!" she bellowed . She clutched her fist and held it high at Shinichi's nose. 

"Who?" asked Shinichi while he tried to fight the laugh that was bursting madly inside him. So this was Toyama, thought Shinichi while a scowl-faced image of Heiji formed in his mind. 

"Heiji! HEIJI HATTORI!" said Toyama curtly. 

"Hattori-san? Ah… I was just talking to him when you com-" Toyama let out a grief shout again before Shinichi could finish his words - 

"So he is here! Come out you! Baka!!" 

"Patience. Patience miss…?" 

"Toyama. Toyama Kazuha." 

"Yes, Tokama-san -" 

"Toyama! Did it sound like Tokama to you? " she said firmly. 

"Ah. Yes that's what I said. So, Toyama-san, I did talk to him, but by phone," said Shinichi. He looked horrid because he was fighting to keep his face straight. 

There was a nasty pause before Kazuha said doubtfully, "By - by phone? Really?" 

"Yes." Shinichi gave an innocent-looking face. 

Kazuha threw a long 'oh' before leaving. But she didn't really seem to believe it. She gave a back glance at Shinichi, in a strange way. 

"She's gone?" Heiji asked as Shinichi shut the door. Shinichi nodded , his face spreading with a derisive grin. 

"I bet ten Decs-ru Ruby that she'll be back. That sort of look she gave is something like a warning for you, you know." 

"Yes, she will. And she won't forget to bring a bunch of cops with her next time." 

"Where are the snacks?" Shinichi's eyes grew larger, staring blankly at the emptied packet. 

"Er…" Heiji grinned. Shinichi need no more explanations about the 'disappearance' of the snacks. 

"Vacuum cleaner…" Shinichi muttered 

"What?" 

"Nothing…" 

Shinichi had completely forgotten about Conan but a new question came. "Did you tell the sandy-hair girl to come? I haven't met her yet." 

"She didn't? And you didn't meet her yet? Ah- could it be that your sixth sense is not working properly after the incident?" Heiji muttered. 

"It has nothing to do with sixth sense! (Nonsense! Ridiculous!)" Shinichi yelled impatiently. 

"Oh it has a lot to do with that! You'll know where to find her if you really… er… well, keep your eyes open… Besides, it isn't too hard to notice a sandy-haired person among a crowd of black-haired people," said Heiji in a queer sort of voice. 

Shinichi gritted his teeth at the words. Can't this Hattori talk about something that he knew? Can't he stop beating about in the bush? Can't he? Was that so important, put too much precaution and everything? What is really going on here! What is the thing that they knew but he didn't? 

The tense moment was broken by a hooting sound and the ringing of a bell. Things became less strained when Heiji groaned and mumbled, "Oh no... oh no...!" 

Shinichi went to open the door again, leaving Hattori wondering by himself. 

Left alone in the room that is full with books, always making his mind wander somewhere else. The odd sort of conversation with Yosaku Kudo weeks ago came across his mind. Yosaku had came to ask him to help Shinichi. Some strange kind of help he asked for 

Flashback 

"It's quite hard for us to leave Shinichi that way now," said Yosaku with his usual calm, gentleman sort of voice. "He doesn't know what he's about to do, he doesn't even have self-precaution that he should !" 

"I think it just about time, Kudo-san," said Heiji, trying to be as calm as Yosaku. Heiji privately admired the way Yosaku had handled everything. Just that he didn't think Shinichi should be look forward like a little boy. Shinichi that he had once knew had self-responsible that not every youngster have, surely he would be the same even if he was having amnesia. 

"I know my son is responsible," answered Yosaku as if he had read Heiji's mind, "Just want to put more precautions." 

"But…" 

Yosaku cut off and said, "I've arrange everything, just help us, won't you?" 

"Ok…"Heiji surrendered finally. He understood why Yosaku asked him for his help. He could understand why Yosaku was so anxious about his only son. This was human nature. 

That was all and Heiji didn't ask what sort of thing that Yosaku had arranged. Already minutes after Shinichi went to the door, could he convince Kazuha that Heiji wasn't here? The thought of Kazuha changed his expression. There was... something... something inside Heiji that was bothering him. 

"Hattori-san!" exclaimed a voice but Kazuha's. "Fancy to see you are here too!" 

"Eh?" Heiji turned his head to the owner of the voice. It was a man about fifty, shorter than Heiji and fatter. He was the man in the news about Decs-ru Ruby, Mr. Himura. 

Mr. Himura smiled and bowed gently, "Oh! I had told Kudo Shinichi about the card from that thief and about you. Who knows that you both know each other!" 

Shinichi on the other hand, was eyeing Heiji furiously and gave an 'explain-what-are-you-hiding-from-me' look. The look that he always gave whenever he found out that Heiji tried to do something alone. 

"Er…." Heiji shrugged his shoulders and grinned guiltily - ' That - that nosy girl...' he gritted his teeth at the thought... 

****************************************************************************


	4. Chapt 4 - The Ancient Lagend

Note:  
'Thought'  
"Talk"  


By : N. 'Ain Izzati

------------------------  
Chapter 4  
The Ancient Legend  
------------------------

__

All the world's a stage  
And all the men and women merely players;  
They have their exits and entrances;  
And one man in his time plays many parts  
His acts being seven ages.

The words emerged slowly, softly - almost inaudible - from her reddish lips. She stared, at the river that was pouring down and down, heading to the east. The water was shimmering, it was crystal clear that she could see her own reflection in it. 

She saw a pale -almost white as sheet- face, a girl's face. She supposed to be about nineteen, but no, she looked so mature, so mature for her age. And her eyes... 'Why do they look that way?' she pondered. They looked so... deep, deep and bottomless. Like the sea at her deepest part. So dark, so... lonely. It was so dim, liked if it had eaten away all the light, like if a veil was built up between those ruby irises, and kept the light from it. 

She wished... she wished that the time would stop, just for a seconds, so that her mind would stop as well, from wondering, from thinking, from... remembering all the memories of past. So that... so that she could taste the nicest peace... even just for a seconds.

__

Peace is death

The thought stroked her_._ Smiling, in an odd way. It – the smile – was somehow, like hiding a pain, so painful that it turned so cold, like ice. She pushed her hair as they fluttered and covered her eyes. They were red just as red as her lips. No, they were quite different; they were not just red, but also orange and yellow... like a burning flame. They were shoulder-cut. She didn't know why, but she liked it that way. Though, _he_ liked a girl with long hair. 

'Whatever…'

'Why should I care about it. None of my business.' She forced her mind to absorb the statement that... _he_ was _hers_. Tried hard to ignore it, 'think about something else... something else...' her subconscious mind commanded her. 'What is that _something else_?' 

"Miyano-san"

'I dunno!' another part in her yelled, killed the thought. 'I dunno what I should think!'

"Ano... Miyano-san?"

'I just... I just want to...---'

"Excuse me Miyano-san?" a gentle hand shook her back to the reality. Miyano blinked, her expression looked... confuse at first. 

"Day dreaming?" the figure that now in front of her smile. He was a boy... no actually a young man around twenty. His brown-black eyes sparkled as they met Miyano's.

"Uh?" 

"I'm just coming to tell you that the lunch is ready," said he.

"Oh... I mean... thank you for telling me," her voice that at first sounds faltered now turned cold, as cold as the light in her ruby eyes. 

The young man shrugged, he sensed the icy aura that was wrapping this young lady before him. "Well, see you there, then."

Nodded absently, Miyano threw her gaze to the waters again, hoping this guy would leave her so that she could enjoy her little world here... being apart of nature, where nobody, nothing would disturbed her, would hurt her. But no, that guy still there, looking at her, or rather like examining her? There were curiosity and wonder in his expression.

"Well...?" feeling a little bit annoyed, Miyano said, brows lifted. 

"Er? Oh... I... hmm... nothing," he said and turned to the walk-path that had brought him here. 

Relief.

"Oh… and…" 

"Yea… what?" 

"We'll have some other guests today. I think you'll want to meet them." The young man smiled again and left. Soon, he was out of sight, and the world wrapped by the _peace_ again, undisturbed, silent… 

"A guest?" 

Shiiho stood. Her ruby eyes remained empty… the cold wind continued to breathe. Like if telling her that the peace would soon taken again… and the past of hers would never give in… they would haunt her… forever… until she die… die… die. 

Murdered by her misery.


End file.
